Sunday lunch at the end of the line
It was a strange feeling sitting at the end of the line at the railway station in Singapore, knowing that in a month’s time it will end its life as that.After years of negotiation, often to end in stalemate, the Malaysian and Singapore governments have finally come to an agreement on the site and [...]
Tagged and the rest of it is free. Really?
No sooner than we arrived to Le Blanc Resort in Cancun, Mexico, we were given a transparent wristband with an 8-digit number and logo. We had been tagged. We had entered the world of an all-inclusive resort.Have I ever done this before? No.I listened in amazement to the instructions given to us by [...]
ITB Asia to provide a showcase for Japan’s recovery
Focus will be on Japan at this year’s ITB Asia, held from October 19-21 at Singapore’s Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre, as it will be the show’s partner country.This partnership is a multi-agency initiative made possible with the support of Messe Berlin (Singaapore), Singapore Touris [...]
SLH challenges agents to pick a song for a place
Frank Sinatra said it best with his songs “Autumn in New York” and “I Love Paris”…Sometimes a melody can conjure up memories of your favourite places around the world.Now travel agents are invited to put their musical knowledge to the test and help Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) [...]
THack comes to WIT in October
The Tnooz THack initiative will hit the city of Singapore in October 2011, in partnership with Web In Travel.The 24-hour hacking event for developers, sponsored by Abacus International as the exclusive GDS, will take place on Oct 16-17, the Sunday before the WIT Bootcamp and Conf [...]
Thaipusam Festival – more than just a ritual of body piercing
Thaipusam is one of the most unexpected festivals that you would imagine to see in Singapore. Yet it's real. 100% authentic. And quite unbelievable!His gaze was intent. He was looking for support, for power to overcome bodily pain. To conquer the physical and enter the spiritual. He, was [...]
Thank you, Steve Jobs
My parents and I moved to the United States in 1979, when I was 10. I’m what you’d called FOB: a “fresh-off-the-boat” immigrant who is MIT (Made in Taiwan).The first few years were tough for my family, caused in part by the then declining domestic and global economy. I also didn’t speak a [...]
The can-do-ness of the last-minute human being
I often wonder if we are doing things more last minute these days because we can.In the old days pre-mobile, if we fixed an appointment to meet someone somewhere sometime, we would just show up.Today, we message while on the way. “See you in 5, sorry late.” And we lie through our teeth as to the [...]
The difference between Phuket and Bali
Bali or Phuket? Phuket or Bali? That is often the question for European travelers when they are in search of beach destinations on their first trip to South-East Asia. It has been a long 12 years since I was last in Phuket. And somehow I don't have many memories from that trip. I have a vague rec [...]
The Friend Effect
It is an irony that it took someone who found it hard to make friends – I love that first scene where he is dumped by his girlfriend – to start a business which allows everyone to make friends.I am talking, of course, about Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, and his story as told by the D [...]
